Prima Deshecha Landfill, California

This portion of Prima Deshecha Canyon, home to the 1,530-acre Prima Deshecha Landfill with its ocean views above Capistrano Beach, is slowly being filled in with trash from the households and industries of Orange County. Paying scavengers at the dump collect some of the waste as it comes in, and return much of the salable material to Mexico. Methane is collected from a network of buried pipes, and fuels a power plant at the landfill. There are two other major landfills in Orange County, the Frank R. Bowerman Landfill in Irvine, and the Olinda Landfill in Brea. Both of them are slated to close before the Prima Deshecha Landfill reaches the end of its life expectancy sometime in 2067.